Collection items temporarily unavailable

British Library Greek Manuscripts digitisation project

A number of Greek manuscripts will be temporarily unavailable to readers between April 2014 and March 2015, as a result of the third phase of the Greek Manuscripts digitisation project.

These items will typically be unavailable for 8-12 weeks while preparation and imaging take place. Once digitised the material will become available online in addition to being available for consultation in the Reading Rooms.

We strongly advise readers intending to consult Greek manuscripts that have not already been made available on Digitised Manuscripts to contact the Manuscripts Reference Team before planning a visit.

Please note that this project will not affect the availability of any Greek papyri.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

British Library and Qatar Foundation digitisation project

There will be some disruption to the availability of items in our collection from January 2013 onwards, as a result of a major digitisation project the British Library is running with the Qatar Foundation.

These items will include archival material relating to the Gulf from the East India Company and India Office, and also some medieval Arabic scientific manuscripts.

We strongly advise readers to check the availability of materials online and to contact Asian & African Studies reading room staff for advice.

Once digitised the material will become available online in addition to being available for consultation in our Reading Rooms.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

British Library and Google digitisation project

A number of items from our collection will be temporarily unavailable to readers from December 2012 onwards, as a result of a major digitisation project the British Library is running with Google. The project will run for four to five years.

These items, which include books and pamphlets in English and other European languages dated 1700 to 1870, will be typically unavailable for 8-12 weeks while preparation and scanning take place.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused, and urge readers to check the availability of materials online before visiting the Library. As a result of the project, 250,000 books from our collections will be made available online for free via Google Books and, in due course the Library's website.

Newspaper collection moves

The British Library Newsroom is now open.
The Newsroom provides access to microfilm and digital newspaper collections as well as broadcast news, multimedia and archived websites.

Records for microfilm and print newspapers that are currently being moved are now visible in Explore the British Library; where available these records will link to digital versions.

Print newspapers that are currently being moved and titles for which no print or digital copy exists will become available for ordering again in autumn 2014. More information on newspaper moves is available on our
website.